(CNN) - In the middle of the massive effort to protect New Yorkers from the effects of Hurricane Irene last month, a colorful moment gave people an amusing opportunity to laugh and joke. It was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's efforts to communicate with Spanish-speaking New Yorkers in their own language.

"My Spanish skills, may continue poco a poco (little by little)," said the mayor in not-so-fluent Spanish on Aug. 30 when asked by reporters about his repeated attempts to communicate in Spanish. Bloomberg never explained whether his speaking Spanish was out of a genuine concern to effectively communicate with people or a way to score political points with New York's Hispanic voters – or both.